Supermarket chain Kwik Save and its 3,000 staff face an uncertain future as a creditor is set to ask a court in Leeds for the retailer to be wound up.

Having announced a further 22 store closures on Thursday, the firm was hoping an administration deal would save it from immediate danger. But that hearing, scheduled for today, is likely to be postponed - while the creditor's case is to go ahead.

Kwik Save closed 79 stores in May, before promising to reopen 19 of them.

The news was a “devastating and deeply distressing blow” to workers who have struggled to keep them going, union leaders said. The group has now closed a third of its stores across the UK, leading to up to 700 job losses.

It has been reported that Irish entrepreneur Brendon Murtagh is seeking to put together a rescue deal.

The ailing chain will be left with just 145 outlets after the latest closures, comoared to 1,000 shops worth more than £1 billion in the mid-1990s.

Industry experts believe that Kwik Save has failed to keep up with competition from multiple convenience stores.

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